Gold miners slump after US house sales jump

The news: ASX-listed gold miners were among the biggest losers in the early afternoon as the spot price of the commodity slipped after higher than expected US new house sales figures for August clouded the potential interest rate cut pathway for the US Federal Reserve.

The numbers: At 12:55pm AEST, shares in Catalyst Metals had slipped 4.9% to $7.96 while shares in Westgold Resources had slipped 4.9% to $1.94.

In the previous session, the spot price of gold settled 0.88% lower at USD3,730.98 ($5,658.32). The spot price ticked up 0.05% in the day.

The context: Data released by the US Census Bureau overnight flagged that new home sales unexpectedly jumped 20.5% in August, diminishing some fears regarding a slowdown for the US economy and the case for more interest rate cuts in the near term. The US dollar also lifted to its highest level in almost two weeks.